Today, like 50 years ago, the conventional method for commercial production of small-arms cartridge cases involves a successive performance of an extensive range of auxiliary and basic manufacturing operations: cutting-down sheet materials (brass, bimetal or low-carbon steel) into strips, performance of around 8 stamping operations—circle-type blanking, folding a circle into a cap, four drawing and thinning operations (including intermediate thermal and chemical operations), two stamping operations to produce a primer socket, forming two priming openings (as applied to Berdan system primers), as well as performance of at least three turning operations. Used as equipment to implement the above method are power crank presses of different types, including appropriate accessories, heat-treating furnaces, chemical baths and special automatic machines or sets of special-purpose automatic rotor lines.
The conventional system of recycling of cartridge cases, which is applied from time to time, employs case scrap melting followed by de novo manufacturing of new cartridge cases from the recovered metal. Thus, with the conventional method of recycling, vast material and manpower resources that were expended in the original manufacture are irrecoverably wasted, following the intended use of cartridges or their disposal.
What is needed and provided by the present invention are new methods for remanufacturing used or discarded cartridge cases which convert preexisting cartridge cases of one size and/or type to another size and/or type.